User blog:Lordsunflash/Corbus Quick-blade

For the sake of nostalgia and just a comparison, and because some people still want to read it. I am re-posting CQB purely for those reasons. There will be no editing, no revision, no changes at all. I didn't even include the revised version Rorc helped me with. This is all completely un-revised and quite badly written compared to how I write now, enjoy!

Chapter one
Corbus was not as large as other ferrets but he was unmatched in the use of blades. He did not earn his skills from anybeast but was naturally talented with them and this was always to his advantage. He was currently heading north after an uneventful summer in Southward with his companion Durb. it as a peaceful place and this usually bored him, but it kept him away from the more savage of his kind so he would often go there as a bit of a sanctuary.

"I thought you said there would be a river soon.” said Durb

"I’ve been through these parts before i recognize the land."

"Well you had better find it soon were out of water"

Corbus stopped abruptly causing Durb to bump into him, his ear raised.

"Do ye hear that, tis music?"

"Aye and look there’s a fire up ahead"

The proceeded slowly and came across what appeared to be a troupe of performers who had made camp and were sitting around a fire slowly dozing off

"Looks like we don't have to die of thirst after all by the size of that hare there they will probably have some supplies on them" said Durb

"Let me do it you aren't exactly the stealthiest rat, stay behind and make sure they don't wake up" Whispered Corbus.

As Corbus approached one of the caravans he saw something that stopped him in his tracks, it was the young ones sleeping.

Seeing this made his heart feel like an anchor" this isn’t right" he said to himself and began heading back to Durb

"Why didn't ye grab the food you were right next to the caravan?"

"It was um locked in a chest, didn't want to alert them, lets go and try and find that river I’m sure its not that far ahead."

"Alright then let’s go."

They journeyed through the night and did in fact make it to the river. When Durb saw this he ran straight for it almost falling in and began filling his bottle as Corbus began looking around for firewood and a place to set up camp.

“We should journey upriver from here to Mossflower woods, the food is a bit more plentiful there." said Corbus

As they began setting up camp a noise came from a nearby bush.

"What was that" Said Durb "lets find out" whispered Corbus.

As they got closer they fond it was a mouse, injured and barely alive

"Get back you vermin leave me in peace" said the mouse

"We won't hurt you, what’s your name and how did this happen to you" asked Corbus

"R...Rupert" said the mouse as he passed out.

"We had better get him somewhere safe, I think there’s an abbey northeast of here, we can get him there." Said Corbus

"Alright but we might need some disguises, they wont exactly take in a rat and ferret like us"

"Good point" said Corbus as he began bandaging Rupert's head.

The next day they headed off towards the abbey planning what they would do as they went along.

"How exactly are we going to get him in the abbey without them seeing us, i doubt that mouse would be able to walk there on his own." asked Durb

"We’ll just walk him near it and hopefully somebeast will see him and bring him in"

"But what if he says he was attacked by vermin and they find us walking around, it wouldn't add up well for us."

"I'm sure they wouldn't just attack us on the spot they would probably just question us, maybe if were lucky he will say we saved him, that would get us something for sure."

"Aye I’ve heard talk that the place is filled with gold and riches"

"Well i was thinking more along the line of some supplies but that would be just as good, but lets try and get to the abbey first then maybe we can get some kind of reward."

"Well if that’s the case then why not bring him in ourselves it would save us from an interrogation for sure."

"Alright but lets still put on the cloaks just in case they get confused of our intentions" As they neared the path Rupert began to wake up, Corbus and Durb Put on their hoods as he did.

"Where am I?" said the injured mouse

Corbus explained" we err found you a while back, near the river, were taking you to Redwall abbey so you can be taken care of."

"Ah the abbey, and who are you." he asked.

"I am Corbus and this is Durb were travelers"

"Well then I owe you a debt of gratitude, now please put me down it’s my head that is injured"

"How exactly did that happen anyway." asked Durb

"A band of vermin came and attacked me, stole all my belongings." he answered

"oh were sorry for you but you will be safer at the abbey, where they can help you recover" they journeyed a while further, Corbus supporting Rupert as he was not as ready to walk as he thought he was, until the abbey appeared in the distance

"Well there it is hope we get a warm welcome" Corbus Whispered to Durb.

Tobias was sleeping in the gatehouse when suddenly a knock at the door woke him up. He looked over the rampart to see a mouse and two figures in traveling cloaks" who goes there" he yelled at the one in the lead.

"We are travelers and our friend here needs your medical attention please let us in." Corbus yelled at the gatekeeper.

Tobias rushed down to the gate as soon as he saw the bandage on Rupert's head but as he helped Rupert in he had second thoughts “first you two take off you hoods then you can come in."

Corbus did so cautiously, as did Durb. Tobias was surprised that a mouse had been rescued by vermin; Rupert was just as surprised as he had yet to see the faces of his rescuers.

"We mean no harm; do not judge us by the deeds of our kind."Said Corbus.

"We do not wish to, please come in if you rescued this mouse I’m sure you mean us no harm." Said Tobias.

As they entered the abbey Corbus noticed it grand size and beauty, never before on any of his travels had he seen such a place, the closest he had seen were ruins and small villages but this was beyond any of his expectations. As they walked to the main building a voice beckoned them.

“I see we have three new faces in our abbey” Said the voice. They turned to see a very old badger with a band of dubbuns” welcome to Redwall abbey I am Cregga “

“Hello I am Corbus, this is Durb, and the mouse they just sent off to the infirmary was Rupert”

“Tell me, Corbus, you are not like other vermin why are you so peaceful.” She inquired.

“Let’s just say we have a bad enough reputation as is.” He answered

“Well whatever your reasons are let me be the first to welcome you to Redwall, may you find peace here.”

“I hope we will Cregga I hope we will.”

Chapter Two
Far from Redwall abbey, on the western shores resided the reason for their reputation and their peacefulness, the Taggerung, he was the strongest of the clan and was as such their leader, and first into battle and last to leave, he had never once lost in battle to anybeast. He was currently discussing his plans with his second in command a wildcat named Stitcheye.

“The tribe is growing restless we must soon find a new venture to set out upon or we will be facing rebellion” Said Stitcheye.

Zann, as he wished himself to be called, already had an answer to this problem” I have heard talk of a great building, an abbey apparently filled to the bursting with gold and jewels and experts of many trades, It seems to me that this is the exact place we are looking for.”

“I too have heard of this place and the names of its enemies, Cluny the scourge, the marlfoxes, Slagar the Cruel, all of which have been slain attempting to take over it, you would be a fool to try and take over such a place.”

“If they have failed then they were themselves fools, merely bandits in comparison to my might.” he said in Narcissism. But then he considered the names and thought up a plan to deal with Stitcheye.

“But if it will bring moral to my troops I will send you and a score of Juska to scout out this fabled abbey.”

“Yes sir” said the wildcat.

Stitcheye soon left with a score of the strongest he could find they traveled for five days until they reached Mossflower wood.

“The abbey should be no longer than a days march away, if we are to scout it we will have to split up.”He ordered

They traversed through the woodland finding few things until he came across the path that led to Redwall he then ordered five to go up the path and the other to go down it, they saw the abbey at noon

“So this is the fabled Redwall abbey, you two go back and gather the others and come here, we shall search this place.” They searched around the walls until the rest of the patrol had arrived.

“Now lets find out if the creatures inside are truly the battle-hardened warriors they are supposed to be.”

It was a week after Corbus had arrived at the abbey and he and Durb had taken to the life well, they had been easily accepted due to their rescue of Rupert, except for Skipper who was still a bit cautious around them. They were currently In the Great hall speaking well of Redwall.

“I’m still surprised we were taken in so easily maybe they have not seen much of other vermin, except for Cregga, she seems to have led a very violent life.” Said Durb

“Well we haven’t exactly been like this our entire life too, remember those days in my father’s tribe, we were quite bad back then.”

“Yes and may we never have anything to do with it ever again” he replied

As if someone had heard him a voice came from outside “Attack!’

As if by instinct they took out their weapons and headed of to see who the attackers were The attackers were of course the Juska and they were currently grappling onto the walls. As soon as Corbus saw them he was thrust back into his younger days when he was in fact with the Juska of his father’s tribe, he bounded down the rope of one of the hooks and began battling for his life slaying all invaders on sight as Durb picked them off with his bow and not missing a single shot. As soon as Stitcheye saw his troops falling to the redwallers he knew these were the warriors he was looking for.

“We found what we were looking for there’s no need to thin our numbers further, RETREAT! RETREAT!”

Before vanishing into the woodlands Corbus was finally able to see the enemy commander, and his face was not a new one “No not them” he whispered to himself.

The redwallers then began to assess the attack and ponder it.

“Where did they come from, I have never seen the like of them before” said sister Balsam, the infirmary keeper.

“I have seen their kind before and if I’m not mistaken they were the Juska.” Said Corbus

“The Juska but they live on the western shores far from here” Said the Skipper of otters.

“Aye but the rumors of this abbey have spread far and wide and have become changed and altered, when we first came here we expected to see vast amounts of treasure and gold, so that is probably what they are after also.” Explained Durb

Corbus pulled Durb back from the crowd as they began discussing the problem”Durb I saw their leader, it was Stitcheye my brother’s old lackey, and him here means my brother is not far away.” Said Corbus urgently

“But his clan is the largest on the entire western coast.”

“Yes but fortunately we know all his weaknesses, his mentality, the way he thinks, if we can use this against him surely we can win.”

“Well we should keep our past a secret for now, I don’t know how they will respond to us being like them once.”

“Alright make sure they get the information, but not too much, Skipper is still a little wary of us and I don’t think the idea of us being Juska will help with our situation and Skipper is the one beast whose trust we need”

As Corbus and Durb were weaving their web of secrets the rest of the abbey were planning their defenses, Skipper taking charge

“Ok we need to bring in some help if we have the choice, somebeast find out if the Gousim are in the area, their help will be needed. Secondly we will need to stock up on arrows; Drogg isn’t there a bellows in the cellar”

“Yes I use it to make the barrels, but it will probably work in making arrowheads.” Said the young cellarhog

“Great now we just need a group to get the wood for the shafts and javelins and stones for the slings, Balsam get the infirmary ready for a battle you will have to get some help by the end of this, well what are you all still doing here GO!”

The abbeybeasts all went off to their respectful jobs while Skipper beckoned to Corbus and Durb”Come over here you two; you seem to know the most about the Juska so tell me all you know” he ordered Durb began” well this certain clan we recognize and if not much has changed since we last saw them they must number at about 300 to 400 in all, not good numbers for us”

“Also its worth pointing out their leader isn’t a lazy buffoon, he’s a highly trained warrior the Juska call

‘The Taggerung’ not a beast to be reckoned with a real nasty feller.” Added Corbus

“Tell me more of this Taggerung Corbus” he inquired

They then began telling him everything they knew about The Taggerung, though only telling him of his strength and weapons and nothing of his history, they then began to tell of the Juska and what they knew of them, once again not mentioning the history they had with the clan.

“Hmm sounds like we have a rather large battle ahead of us”

“Aye and it wont be an easy one The Taggerung is a sly one, killed his own father and almost his brother too” Durb accidentally blurted out

Skipper did not take much notice of his words “seems like he’s a real evil one, alright that should be enough, if you remember anything important tell me”

“Understood” they said simultaneously

Chapter 3
Zann was in his tent training his son Sawney when the first of the scouts arrived.

“Sir News from Stitcheye, we have found Redwall and have tested their battle prowess, they have lived up to their name, we await your orders.”

“So they truly are the warriors I have heard so much about, tell the tribe we will be making out for the abbey tomorrow, where is Stitcheye?” he asked

“He had decided to stay with ten others at the abbey to spy on them and watch how they responded to their attack.”

“Excellent, now return to your tent and prepare for a march.”

Sawney spoke to his father of Redwall “what is so special about this Redwall place to you father I know it is supposed to be filled with riches, but you are not wanting that are you”

“No my son for I seek a even greater reward, they say that within this abbey lies a sword of tremendous power, one that has been through numerous battles without even being scratched.” He replied

“And this is why you wish to attack the abbey’

“Yes for if I can acquire such a sword then I will be able to gain a treasure ten times the amount I would find in the abbey out of conquest alone”

The next day the Juska left camp and began the five day march to Redwall abbey and his ultimate prize, The Sword of Martin the Warrior!

Back at the abbey the plans were going well and the abbey defenders were being trained by skipper and Durb (due to his skill with a bow) in the middle of the training Corbus ran up to the two with good News

“While Looking for metal to make the arrows we have found an old room in the belltower and it seems to be filled with weapons and even some old battle plans written b somebeast called Arven”

The name was familiar to Skipper “Of course the battle of the ridge of a thousand, you see many seasons ago a evil rat named Damug warfang attempted to capture the abbey, but with the help of the long patrol, the Gousim, and some woodlanders they were able to repel them, I was wondering where they had put all those weapons.”

“Speaking of the Gousim they have just arrived Log a Log wishes to speak to you.”

Just as he said that the aforementioned shrew came out of the front gate “Skipper you ole streamwalloper it’s great to see you”

“Aye it’s great to see you too Log a Log but I wish the reason for your arrival were better”

“Yes about that who exactly are we up against this time”

“The Juska I’m afraid and this isn’t just a scouting party this time, from what I’ve heard we’ll be facing about 400 of them so we’ll need all the help we can get”

“Well that’s why I’m here; the Guerilla unions of shrews in Mossflower are at your command my friend”

“Well then begin helping me by beginning a guard around the ramparts.”

As skipper went back to training the Redwallers Corbus and Durb went off to guard duty.

“I still remember the day it happened like it was yesterday.” Said Corbus touching the patch over his eye

“Aye me too, but lets not let him win this time, and now we have help, he wont trick us like he did last time.”

“Your right we have time to prepare for him, we must not be caught off guard, and how many do we have Durb?”

“Five score with the Gousim here, a quarter of his forces”

“Yes that may be true, but we also have the walls, these will be his greatest obstacle, we need to consider what he may try.”

“Well I think the best place to find out is to look at what other invaders have tried, remember, Skipper said that this place has been attacked many times before.”

“Of course! Those invaders must have used every tactic there is.”

The two friends then ran off to the Gatehouse where they met up with Brother Tobias with Rupert, whom had recovered well, whom was also the recorder for Redwall

“Why hello it’s nice to see you again how goes the defenses” Rupert asked

“We are making great progress but right now we need to see the records of other invaders of Redwall abbey, we hope to prepare or such tactics”

“Well then you had better start off with Cluny the Scourge, he was the only one able the actually conquer it, though he was immediately defeated afterwards here I’ll find it for you” said Brother Tobias

He rummaged around until he was certain he had found the correct records.

“Here the records from the summer of the late rose.”

Corbus searched through it until he found the correct passage “here it says that they later found out that Cluny was able to get in through the use of a spy, some dormouse whom he had ransomed his family for entrance to the abbey”

“That sounds like something he would do alright but that wouldn’t be all lets look at the other invasions and see what else was attempted”

They worked with Brother Tobias through the day finding records of all the previous invasions and even ones from the great Mossflower war before the founding of the abbey, at one point Rupert began to get inquisitive

“You seem to know a great deal about the Juska yet your very peaceful why is that.”

Corbus turned to Durb “I think they had best know now it may make us lose their trust if we don’t let them know soon enough”

“Alright then if it’s for the best, tell them”

Corbus began “You see we were not always the kind beasts you see today, many seasons ago we were in fact Juska ourselves”

This surprised Rupert “But what caused you to change”

“Well you see back when we were with the Juska my father was chief, so I was next in line to be, but one day he was killed by an assassin, my brother. Claiming he should become the next chief in line he challenged me to a duel and we fought the next day but he knew I was the better swordsbeast so he dulled my sword before the fight and I was forced to retreat after losing my eye in the fight, from then on me and Durb here wandered through the land giving up our ways of death and slaughter because we knew it would only bring us more harm.”

“Well it seems you’ve had a bit of a dark past, but I guess that is fortunate on our part considering you know so much about our enemy, but just one thing is still puzzling me, why then is he called Taggerung” Durb knew this “That is a name he made himself even had a seeress make up a bunch of mumbo jumbo about how his first name meant ‘great warrior’ in some ancient language”

“Well it seems he is not as big of a threat as we once thought him to be” said Tobias

“Don’t underestimate him he may not be all his name sets him out to be but he is still a tricky one and that is the most deadly thing about him.” Warned Corbus

A Gousim shrew came in at that moment yelling to them

“The Juska have arrived in full force they are attacking the abbey!”

Durb and Corbus then ran to the wall top pulling out their weapons, Zann was currently giving the abbey his ultimatum

“Surrender the abbey to us and you shall be spared but fight back and you shall be defeated” he ordered Corbus was the one to answer this” this abbey shall never be yours as should the tribe you lead traitor!” Zann recognized the voice and was partially surprised to hear it, though he hid it “ah brother it’s so nice to see you again I had though you would be dead right now and is that your brainless lackey Durb next to you, this truly shall be a glorious victory” he motioned to Stitcheye at that point “CHARGE SCALE THE WALLS!” Stitcheye screamed at the troops

They then began a murderous charge towards the abbey, some carrying grappling hooks and some with ladders, but the abbeybeasts fought back bringing a rain of arrows and stones down upon them.

As the battle went on ahead Zann had ordered six loyal Juska to follow him “while they attack from the front and get their attention we will scale the walls to the west”

On the walltop Corbus had seen such an attack coming, knowing his brother so well “Durb come with me I don’t see Zann out there and if I know him he’s doing something right under our nose”

“Good point lets check the other sides, see what he’s up to” Zann and his group had circled around the abbey until they had found a relatively easy place to scale

“Ok start here and when you get to the top try and get into the abbey building and try to take a hostage, preferably a young one”

As they neared the top two faces suddenly appeared on the wall top, it was Durb and Corbus “Well hello I believe you plan has failed, oh and thanks for the idea about hostages” Corbus said as he cut six of the ropes and pulled the seventh one up knocking its climber unconscious in doing so.

“Good idea about taking the hostage now we may get an idea to why he’s here, it can’t just be the gold Zann has always wanted something bigger” complimented Durb

“Well the battle should end soon considering his plan failed”

“Aye I can already see them falling back”

After the Juska had finally retreated the abbey met to discuss the battle

“Well we have minimal losses only about five injured” assessed log a Log

“It should be worth pointing out that while the battle was going on me and Durb discovered they were trying to scale the walls on the western rampart, we stopped them and even got a hostage, he should be waking up about now”

“Well then lets see who we have and what he knows” said Skipper

In the cellar the prisoner was awake and being guarded by Drogg, He addressed Corbus, skipper and Log a log as they entered the room

“The prisoner has just woken up and it seems we have caught the perfect prisoner, he says he’s the chieftains son!”

Chapter four
They entered the room where Sawney was imprisoned, his paws had been tied and he was sitting in a corner

“You’re going to regret this I’m telling you my father is was just here for the treasure, he probably would have left this place intact but now that you’ve got me he’s going to burn it top the ground because of this”

Corbus silenced hum by putting a blade up to his throat “listen sonny, we need to know what he is up to, now these gentlebeasts here have some restraint and won’t dare hurt a young one like you but I’m a vermin see so I don’t have any kind of restraint like that” he threatened

Skipper, whom had been told their past, whispered to Durb “You two were real scary when you were with the Juska weren’t you”

“Aye you should’ve seen us back then we were real pirates back then, especially Corbus, he was a real mean one until his father was killed” he answered

Corbus continued to interrogate Sawney to no avail “tell me what he is doing now or we’ll string you up, I know your Juska and I know that by your age you’ve done you share of blood shedding so we have more than enough reason to”

“Never I will escape here and you will be the first one I kill for I am Sawney Rath the son of Zann, the Taggerung.”

“So you think your father is some ‘great warrior’ well let me tell you the truth, I am his brother, your uncle, and when we were younger he killed chief Tabun, our father, assassinated him in the night then he challenged me to battle, but before doing so he dulled my blade and cheated in the fight, I still have the scars to prove it, ya see he took my left eye in the fight and because of it I have never forgotten what he has done”

Sawney was surprised by this “But he told me you killed his father and that he killed you too”

“Oh is that what he told you well it’s wrong I am the rightful chieftain of the Juska, and he is nothing but a coward”

It was at this that he finally gave in “He’s not here for the treasure, he’s here for some great sword, one that is supposedly unbreakable, forged from a star.”

“Now that sounds a bit more like him, someone post a guard to make sure he doesn’t escape, we need to find out what he’s up to next “said Corbus as he left

Outside the abbey Zann had already begun plans for his next attack “it seems that our largest problem is my brother, he knows all my tricks and will be prepared for him, so we must find a way to get rid of him, get me Sombra”

Sombra was a weasel, an assassin for Zann; he had helped him when he planned to assassinate his father and was responsible for dulling Corbus’s blade before the fight “What does the Taggerung require of me”

“I need you to kill someone for me, and it is not a new target, it’s my brother, he is aiding these Redwallers and is telling them all of my tricks, he must be eliminated. He is currently inside the abbey most likely interrogating my son, find him kill him and free my son.” He ordered

That night Sombra began climbing the wall, making sure he did not make a single sound in doing so and that nobeast would see him, he avoided the wall guards and made it to the abbey where he quickly mad it to the stairs but stopped as he heard voices up ahead.

“The prisoners been pretty quite, I think Corbus scared him a bit too much”

“When I saw him he looked pretty shaken”

He waited in a empty room until their voices faded away and went strait for the dormitories and searched until he found a room with a ferret in the bed, acting quickly he brought out his dagger and stabbed the sleeping ferret in the stomach, unfortunately he screamed “Help!”, alerting all in the area.

“Somebeast has been attacked quickly I heard it coming from here”

Sombra acted quickly making for the door but was stopped by the last beast he expected to see, It was Corbus.

He was so confused he failed to notice Corbus’s own dagger lunge at him piercing his heart.

Corbus quickly ran to the bed “Get Sister Balsam Sawney has been attacked”

The sister was soon at Sawney’s side aiding him “he’ll survive but the injury will pain him for many years to come”

Skipper easily figured out what happened “it seems to me that this weasel came here trying to kill Corbus but mistook Sawney for him, stabbing him.”

“Well let’s just be glad that both of us are still here and that he yelled help, otherwise he might have realized the mistake and gone for me too”

“To be safe we should double the guard tonight, incase he isn’t the only one”

The next day Corbus convened with the abbey leaders and discussed his idea

“I believe that the Juska may now think I am dead, if this is true then we can use this t our advantage, I think that if we can disguise me I will be able to infiltrate the camp and find out what his plans are.”

“But how could we disguise you to the point that your own brother wouldn’t recognize you?” asked Rupert

“Well the thing is that he hasn’t seen me for many seasons so he will have a bit of an outdated idea of what I look like up close, that with a good disguise and he will not recognize me at all.”

“Well we had better get started” said Log a Log

They then spent the next few hours making Corbus look less like himself, which was rather easy as there were many materials to use in doing so.

Once they were finished He barely resembled his former self, he appeared much dirtier wore a red tunic and had even put on a fake tattoo that he had seen the other Juska wearing “well lets hope this works” he said to himself.

Chapter Five
Corbus arrived early the next day as the Juska began to wake up and started wandering through the camp until he came across what was undoubtedly Zann’s tent, as it seemed more ornate and larger than the others, unfortunately for him it was guarded by several Juska, whom were clearly of higher rank.

“Well that rules out spying, maybe I can find another way of discovering his weakness” It was mere moments later that he noticed something that aided him greatly; the rest of the tribe seemed to be living in shabby tents and been given minimal amounts of food in comparison to what Zann and his captains had been eating. He then went to one of the Juska, a female stoat, and began inquiring about Zann.

“Excuse me how long have you been with this tribe”

“About twenty seasons, why?”

“So you’ve been here since Tabun was chief correct”

“Aye, those were the good days, Tabun was a good chief, Kind to those in his command and ruthless to his enemies.” She said happily

“Yes until Zann took charge”

“He isn’t fit to command a loaf of bread let alone the tribe, personally I liked his brother more, and it’s just too bad he’s dead now”

A nearby rat added his view “I’m still not sure ‘ow he won, Corbus was a great swordsbeast” The stoat looked around “Well don’t let it out but I remember the day of the fight, and right before it I saw that weasel, Sombra, takin’ Corbus’ sword and dulling it”

“Why has he been in power for so long, it seems that he should have been replaced years ago” Corbus asked

“It’s that wildcat, Stitcheye, and the guards; they keep a good tight circle around him, keep him nice and safe” said the rat, who’s name was Calrun.

“But the numbers of the clan surely outnumber his guard”

“That’s the other reason he’s still chief, no one here has the battle smarts that he has, sure we can fight but when it comes to leading the battle, well you see anyone who has the smarts enough to lead is promoted to captain”

‘Well maybe we can solve that, I happen to be a great strategist, before I came here I leaded a band of my own and we never came out defeated, that is until Zann recruited us” A horn sounded calling the Juska to battle.

Before going Calrun added “See us after the battle if your still here we’ll see if you can help”

Corbus made it look as if he were heading to the abbey like the others when actually he was slipping off into the woods to alert His friends of the plan.

Back at the abbey the alarm was raised as they saw Zann’s new plan, a battering ram.

“Moles pile up dirt on the front gate, anyone not on the walls find anything you can use to barricade it” ordered Skipper.

The defenders hurried up to the wall top and began firing upon the invaders mainly focusing on the battering ram

As this was going on Corbus reached one of the wicker gates was brought inside to the main abbey building.

Cregga heard him coming in “great Corbus your back, tell me what you have learned”

“Well I was unable to get to Zann, but I did find out that he has been hoarding all the luxuries for himself and the rest of the tribe are becoming mutinous over it, if I can get them angry enough I may just be able to have them rebel against him and, if anything, it will force him to give up his position as chief”

“ah even better than I had imagined, now to our current predicament, we need to find a way to get rid of his battering ram before it reaches the gate”

“I saw it and it looked as if it had seen a rather dry summer, so I think that if we could set it on fire not only would they abandon it but they would lose it altogether”

“Yes but how would we do so, we can’t get close enough to it”

Just then Corbus remembered something he had long forgotten “I think Durb will be able to help us with that, I’ll go get him”

A few minutes later Corbus came in with Durb and several archers from the wall

“Alright now where do you keep the oil Durb?”

“What are you talking about” asked Cregga

Durb explained “You see I always keep with me a bottle of oil and cloth so that when needed I could make a fire arrow, though up to today I never thought I would have to use them”

“Of course my fire arrows it’s perfect for our needs”

Durb began showing the shrew archers how to make the arrows “all we need to do is Dip a bit of cloth in the oil and tie it around the arrow and when you fire you literally set it on fire” The archers began doing as they were shown and soon had several quivers of fire arrows

“Now to the walltop I shall sneak back to camp and begin preparations for the rebellion”

The newly equipped archers arrived at the walltop and began firing upon the battering ram, avoiding setting fire to anything else, and soon it was alight and the Juska were running for the ditch to douse the flames. Once Zann realized his plan had failed he retreated back to the safety of his camp.

Later that night the mutinous horde converged away from Zann and began plotting his downfall with Corbus taking the lead.

“Now remember how Zann gained his leadership, he defeated his brother in battle”

“Yes but also remember that he cheated”

“This is why we must remain vigilant and watch out because he may try it again in fact I’m almost certain of it”

“Then when shall we attack?” one asked

“We shall have to catch him off guard, find at which point in the day that he is the least prepared, when he’s tired even”

“That would be in the morning after he has woken up, he will be tired and sluggish” added a ferret named Aldy

“Perfect then we have a time and we have a means, if we do this correctly then we shall have the support of the rest of the tribe”

Corbus then traveled in secret into the abbey and began to sharpen his blade and repair his armor. Through the night he prepared, planning his every move considering every possibility and once he left he did not leave alone.

The next day arrived and Corbus met with the Mutinous Juska before going off to face Zann one final time. They marched strait up to the tent and Corbus issued his challenge

“Zann Taggerung I challenge you for the position of chief of the Juska” he yelled

Zann marched out of his tent, ready to take on whatever was out there

“Who dares challenge the Taggerung?”

“I Corbus quick-blade, your brother and true leader of the Juska, for you are no leader you are a coward and a traitor you murdered your own father and your greed has brought nothing but misfortune to this tribe, now stand and fight.”

Upon hearing his name the Juska became rallied to his cause.

“The true chief of the Juska is alive”

“Death to the Taggerung”

“Long live Corbus Quick-blade”

Zann’s anger began to rise as more and more Juska stood beside Corbus

“So be it, I defeated you once and I shall do it again”

Zann charged at Corbus and lunged for his heart, but Corbus stepped aside striking at his brother’s side. Filled with rage Zann swung angrily at his legs and tripped him, he then tried to stab at his heart but failed at Corbus rolled aside and jumped back up and knocked Zann’s blade aside. Zann then dodged Corbus’s swings and gained back his weapon and deflected a blow from Corbus, but soon he became overwhelmed as Corbus struck quickly and hard, wearing down Zann until he was on his knees, he then once again disarmed Zann and brought his dagger to his throat “This is it Zann, your reign over this tribe is over”

Then in one swift move of desperation Zann kicked Corbus away and retreated into his ring of guards yelling “No my brother this is far from over, you may have won the tribe but you will not defeat me” He and his followers then quickly retreated into the woods and evaded the Juska. The tribe then turned to Corbus “by the laws of the Juska you are now our leader, what are your orders chief’

Corbus had considered when this would happen and had thought up an appropriate response

“These are my orders, Go back to the Western Coast and never return to this abbey upon penalty of death, I will not lead you for I am of a different kind, I am no longer a slaughterer of innocents, you may go back to your ways but I will not lead you, I am giving my authority to the one I believe should lead you, Sawney Rath.”

They then began to leave, going back to the place they had come from, some following Sawney, others going by another.

Corbus returned to Redwall and told them the news

“So they have finally left maybe now we can get some peace” said Cregga

They noticed that Corbus and Durb had their equipment

“Where are you going?”

“After Zann the Juska may have left but I must still kill him, otherwise I will feel empty”

“Then may you one day find peace my friend, goodbye”

Chapter six
Over the last season Corbus and Durb had tracked Zann, it was an easy task as he left death and destruction wherever he went, a burned village, slaughtered innocents, and countless other atrocities. They were currently going south after they had learned that he had been seen going that way.

As they passed out of the woods Durb noticed something

“Do ye see that there’s smoke over there” sure enough up ahead there was a plume of grey smoke rising over a hill to the east.

“Let’s see what he’s done now” said Corbus

They went to investigate the smoke and found its source, a harbor in ruins. It appeared to have once been a rather prosperous place with quite a few buildings though the largest, and oldest by the looks of it, was a stone building in the center, that appeared to be a shipwright’s office judging from the ramp coming out of it.

“Well in all my travels I’ve never heard of a place like this, though I suspected there were such places in the world” said Corbus

“Aye now let’s see if there are any survivors”

The cautiously entered the harbor, checking every house as they went along, but alas, the place appeared to be deserted. They had almost given up hope until they came across the large stone building they had seen before.

“Well if they are anywhere then they will be here” said Durb hopefully They walked into the building and were caught off-guard as a rat seized Durb by the neck.

“You’ve already taken enough from us vermin now leave before I snap ‘is neck”

Corbus tried to reason with him “Listen friend, we mean you no harm we are after the ones who did this so if you just let my friend go and we can help each other.”

The rat still did not trust him “Prove to me that you are not with the ones that attacked us”

“Their leader, the one called Zann, we are after him he has done great injustices to us, he has killed my father and I am seeking revenge, please trust us, do we seem like we want to hurt you.”

This seemed to work as he let go of Durb “Alright if were after the same goal I guess I can trust you, my names Grelot.” He then turned to the door and yelled out it “You can all come out, they mean us no harm.” And as soon as he did so dozens of assorted otters, mice, shrews, hedgehogs, and even a few other rats came out and greeted the pair.

“Welcome to port Sabord, I hope that we may be able to help you in any way to get revenge on this so-called Zann” Grelot said

“Yes well you can begin helping us by telling us what happened here and where he went” asked Durb

“Well you see he came here in the morning and demanded one of our ships, but we run a business here so I told him we needed something in return, but he didn’t like that one bit and attacked us and almost burned the place to the ground. Then when he had finished with his ‘fun’ he stole one of our ships and rode off to sea, so I’m afraid that if ya wish to follow him you will have to wait until we can get another ship up and running”

“But by the time we’ve done that he will be unreachable by then” said Corbus hopelessly

“Ho not when me and my family are makin’ it ye aren’t, you see my family has lived here for as long as anybeast can remember and we’ve always been master ship builders, aye we make the best ships anywhere, so we’ll have a ship ready in no time.” He answered

“Oh yes that was another thing that I’ve been wonderin’ about, how exactly did your family get to be here and live with all these woodlanders, most places I’ve been they don’t get along with types like ourselves too well” asked Durb

“Ah you’ve asked me favorite question mate, you see countless seasons ago there was a searat named Blaggut, he’d grown up the pirates life but one day, when enough was enough he gave up that life and settled here, started a family and soon enough otherbeasts came to live with him, they built up this place and it became known as Sabord, and we’ve lived here for generations without much trouble until that Zann figure came and sacked the place.”

“Well then lets not waste anymore time we have a ferret to catch up to”

“Aye good point, come on mates we’ve a ship to build” his announcement was followed by a “hurrah” from the crown, especially the other rats that were Grelot’s family.

For the next few weeks the harbor of Sabord worked non-stop to build the ship and gathering supplies for the trip and at an astounding rate the ship began to take shape. It was a large Frigate with two large sails and a third smaller they had used every trick they knew, from how to reinforce the planks to a kitchen to envy Redwall abbey. As the ship neared completion Grelot approached Corbus with vital information.

“Well Corbus the ship is almost done, and I have to say it’s a beauty.”

“Yes and there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you”

This slightly bothered him “What is it”

“Don’t worry its nothing bad, you see when we began I figured we needed a good navigator so I sent out a few of your villagers to get him, come on and meet him”

They journeyed to a nearby house and found inside a white hare dressed in an blue regimental uniform with a quarterstaff on his back. Upon seeing Corbus he ran up and greeted his old friend.

He seemed to speak with a strange accent “Corbus it’s so good to see you again it’s been almost three seasons since we last met, and who is this rat here, he’s definitely not Durb”

Corbus smiled “This is Grelot he is constructing the ship, Grelot this is Jak Ceader, he saved my life in the southeast, after that we traveled for two seasons together”

“Pleased to meet you monsieur Grelot I am Jak Ceader Navigator I hope I will be able to be of great service to you”

“Pleased you meet you too. Erm just wondering where are you from exactly” he asked

“I am from a land far from here mon ami”

They walked out to the where the ship was being built to let Jak see it

“Now this is a ship I haven’t sailed in a ship since I arrived here, now that was a ship, though I guess we needed one that large to cross the sea”

Grelot was astounded at this “You have crossed the ocean

“Oui I have, and what a trip, but that tale is for another time for now let’s take a gander at the ship.”

Jak’s presence helped a lot as he had kept a bag with many maps and charts of the sea and land which eventually make a room on the ship specially outfitted for Jak and his maps. Within the next the week the ship was ready to set sail

Chapter 7
They boarded the ship with a crew of assorted mice, hedgehogs, shrews and Grelot’s family whom would help with repairs.

Jak looked out to sea and sighed “ah it is nice to be back on the sea, I feel almost at home here” This reminded Durb of something he was going to ask “Oh that reminds me, Jak, where have you been since we last saw you, as I remember you were heading west.”

“Ah yes you see I was at a place called Salamadastron, its occupied by a group of hares called the Long Patrol, led by a badger lord, strange ones there they spoke with the strangest accent always saying wotwot and other things like it, I couldn’t understand half the things they were saying it was confusion”

Corbus shook his head “I know the feeling”

Jak glared at him “Excusez-moi Pouvez-vous répéter que Corbus”

Corbus hid his face whereas Grelot stood dumbfounded and whispered to Corbus “What was that he just said”

“It’s the language they speak where he’s from, he taught me a bit of it but most of its just gibberish to me” he answered

Jak continued on ignoring their conversation “Though the strangest thing about them was their atrocious table manners it was… well let’s just say it reminded me of my time with you Durb”

Durb nodded “Aye well I wasn’t brought up as the chief’s son or a wealthy navigator so nobeast taught me any table manners.”

“Speaking of which lets see what’s for lunch” said Corbus

They all agreed and journeyed down to the kitchens where they met with a otterwife by the name of Loutre.

“So what are we having today Chef” asked Jak

She looked to him in despair “Oh no not a hare.”

Jak bowed to her “Ne vous inquiétez pas I am nothing like the hares from here, I happen to have excellent table manners.”

She looked at him warily “Ok but you will get the same sized meals as everyone else”

“Understood now what exactly are we having”

“An old otter recipe Hotroot soup”

“Ah good I haven’t tasted that in seasons” said Durb

“Now how much supplies do we have?” asked Corbus

“Enough to last us two seasons I’m happy so say”

For the next few days they traveled through the sea not seeing much of anything but always ready at the first sign of trouble and one day they came across a bit of help

“Land Ho!”

Corbus ran out of his cabin and on to the deck “Land where?”

They one who had spotted it pointed to a large island to the west “Right over there and I can see smoke coming from it”

Sure enough there was a trickle of smoke rising from one side of the island.

“Prepare the longboats; we need to find who that is”

In a few minutes they arrived at the shore weapons at the ready.

“Let’s head into the Jungle we can catch them off-guard then”

They began traversing through the strange and new environment, most of the crew had lived in Sabord most of their lives and were not used to a jungle, the sounds were almost terrifying to them. Soon they came across something they did not expect to see, a large treehouse, but this was not your ordinary treehouse, no, it was filled with strange metal and wood contraptions that made a plethora of noises.

This astounded Corbus “in all my seasons I’ve never seen or heard of anything like this.”

A voice came from the house, deep and loud.

“Who dares enter my domain?!”

Corbus answered the voice “We are from the mainland searching for one called Zann, we mean you no harm”

A rather different voice answered them, it was a small and rather well educated “Oh good I though you were those terrible vermin who just showed up on my shores a few days ago, one minute let me get down from here”

There then came some rumbling from the treehouse and a apron-clad mouse came down and greeted them “Hello I am Souris pleased to meet you”

Corbus shook hand with him “I am Corbus Quick-Blade of the Western coast, umm could you explain all this” he said indicating the house

“Ah yes you see I am an inventor, I make things and use them to help me live easier, in fact you have already seen one, the device that amplified my voice, a great help in scaring off any unwanted riff-raff the sea brings in”

They journeyed into Souris’ house and were amazed at all the strange device that hung from the walls “you have come at a great time for me, you see I have a problem, a ship of vermin have arrived on my shores and are planning on setting up a base of operations here”

Grelot intervened “sounds like you have a problem”

“Yes and I cannot scare them off by myself so I need your help to do it, I can supply you with my best weapons, as I have dabbled a little in the ways of war, and have built a few things that may aide you”

“Well before that we need to ask you a question” said Corbus

“Anything”

“As I said before we are looking for a ferret, like me, by the name of Zann, with about three-score vermin with him”

“Ah yes they were here not too long ago, actually I think that the ones here are a scouting party for them”

Corbus looked to Durb and Jak “We can thin their numbers with this”

Souris regained his attention “ahem you may still want my help, I have quite a few contraptions about here that may help”

“Well then let’s see this bidule monsieur Souris”

Souris took a liking to Jak “Ah you are from Gaul then, I recognize your language.”

“Merci I do not come across many who speak, or even recognize it”

“Yes I come across the odd Gaulian from time to time; I have picked up the language”

They came into a room with all assortments of weapons, and some that had never seen the light of day “This is my armory, while I’ve never used any of these weapons myself I like to make them, just in case, please pick a weapon for yourself”

They then began searching through the room for a weapon that suited them while Souris spoke to Corbus “I see you already have your own weapon but, I have something special for you”

“What is it?” he asked

Souris brought out a large metal ball with a string coming out of it “My most deadly weapon, probably the only of its kind, and I hope it remains that way, to use it you must merely light the fuse and throw it at your target, then hide, it will immediately explode causing mass havoc, I created it by accident, when making a mace, use it sparingly if at all”

Corbus took the strange weapon inspecting it “This is the most terrifying thing I have ever seen, but it shall give me an almost certain victory, thank you, but I shall not use it on the scouting party, something this horrible has only one target, Zann”

“Well then I hope you are successful and may it never get into the wrong hands” In a few minutes they were ready for the attack, armed and dangerous.

Chapter eight
They journeyed to where the fire was coming from and found the Juska scouts around a fire, with the beginnings of buildings nearby, Corbus looked at the party and recognized one of them “Look there it’s Stitcheye, he must be leading the party, wait he’s about to talk, lets see what he’s got to say before we attack”

“Zann will be here tomorrow with the rest of the crew and the slaves if all went well he will have a full map of the island and we will be able to continue the construction”

A female ferret spoke up “Why did we choose here to set up?”

Stitcheye glared at her “You dare question your Chief”

“Well it seems strange that of all the places we chose to set up, he chooses an island of all places, how exactly are we going to forage there might not even be anything edible here”

“What is your name ferret?”

“Guenon, why?” she said with much hostility

“You have said much against him in the past weeks, and it has not gone unnoticed and I shall report this to Zann when he returns.” he answered

“Oh really, well if you need something to report on tell him this, I am only here for the treasure, and I haven’t seen much lately that hasn’t gone to him, so as far as I am concerned he can rot in a pit” This brought Stitcheye’s fury to a peak “How dare you speak such mutiny” and struck Guenon with the flat of his blade.

Corbus saw this and launched the assault “ATTACK!”

The crew burst from the trees and began attacking the scouting party shouting various warcries

“attaquer! Blood and Thundeeeeerr! Muirear!” among others

Corbus immediately went for Stitcheye but was cut off by the other Juska; he fought through them only to find a trail leading to the jungle.

“That coward, running from a fight” he said to himself

The battle ended as soon as it had begun, Corbus went through the debris and found the one called Guenon; she was alive but badly hurt. “Somebeast get her to Souris’ home I’m sure he can do something to help, as for Stitcheye he will most likely return with Zann and we will wait until then, so set up a camp near here, and move the ship so that we will be able to access it quickly.”

Durb came to Corbus “Why help her?”

“She clearly resents Zann, but she also knows what he’s done since we last saw him, if we can save her not only will we have a new ally, but we will also learn of his whereabouts”

“From what Stitcheye said it sounds as if they have enslaved some poor defenseless woodlanders”

“Well we’ll find out as soon as she’s healthy again, until then we must wait “he answered Soon they had the ship moored closer to Souris’ home and a fire going on the beach. Jak, Corbus and Durb were talking of old times.

“Remember that time we went to meet Jak’s family in the east” said Durb

“Aye I remember it, the most confusing day of my life, none of them could speak our language” said Corbus

“s'il vous plaît you had it easy, I had to keep translating for you, I was so confused by the end of it I kept getting the two confused” said Jak

“You still do” added Corbus

“Well at least it wasn’t like the time I had to see your kind, remember the time we went to the corsair port”

“What are you talking about, that was one of the greatest weeks of my life” said Durb

“I had to go in disguise to stop them from attacking me”

“Oh yea, well at least they never found out”

“They did, remember I was almost eaten and chased out of town”

“Yah but you weren’t”

“My tail or what’s left of it begs to differ” he said showing his stump of a tail.

At seeing this they all broke out in laughter Corbus shouting “I had almost forgotten about that, ooh the times we’ve had together”

“Aye” Said Durb and Jak simultaneously.

“Well now we can have new times together, and I’ll finally get revenge on my brother”

“Ah yes you never told me what has happened to you since I last saw you”

“Well we’ve had quite a time let me tell you of what’s happened” they then told him of the siege of Redwall and the battle between Corbus and Zann, and of how the tribes broke up.

“Hmm it seems you two had a bit of an adventure since I last saw you two” he said

“We still are, I mean look where we are, on an island many miles from land with a mouse who creates strange machines chasing after my brother” replied Corbus

“Oui well lets get some sleep we can chase your brother tomorrow” said Jak as he went to sleep.

Corbus stood up “I think I’m going to see if the one we rescued has woken up yet” And left for the jungle.

The journey was not hard as Souris had given them a map to find him and soon he was at the strange mouse’s equally strange home. As soon as he neared the entrance he heard somebeast playing a flute, he looked up to find it was Souris.

“Well the master inventor is also a musician, is there any other skills you dabble in.” said Corbus as he come up the steps.

Souris looked up “More than you know, maybe if I have the time I can tell you all of them”

Corbus sat down in front of him “Souris I have a question for you”

“Ask on”

“How exactly did you end up here, I mean you’re an amazing inventor but you live all alone” he asked.

“Well you see many seasons ago I lived on the mainland, in Mossflower actually, and I found myself bored with the primitive technology that the world had there, so I started creating things, all sorts of things, but alas one day me and my tribe were attacked by vermin and they discovered my inventions, they commanded me to make weapons of war for them. Well I refused and they killed my family, after that I ran away got on a ship and sailed out to sea. And as luck would have it I landed here, and I liked it, no evil to destroy the land or me, a place where I could work in peace, where I could do whatever I wanted and nobeast to bother me. I guess you could say I found myself a new home.”

“Did you ever think of going back?”

“Why would I all I had ever wanted is here,” he said with confidence

“But don’t you get lonely.”

At this his mood lowered “I feel as if I have already been hurt enough, the last time I had a family they were killed because of my skills, but I do come across the odd ship with goodbeasts on it.” At this Souris noticed Corbus looking over his shoulder “Now I know you didn’t come here just to hear about me? What do you want to really ask?”

“How is the one we rescued” he asked.

“Ah yes, the ferret, she’s fine just knocked unconscious nothing too bad, in fact she should be waking up any moment now. She’s in the room over there” he said indicating the room to his left.

Corbus entered the room to find Guenon just getting up rubbing her head.

“Where am I, and who are you?” she asked Corbus.

“You are in the house of Souris, you were knocked over the head by Stitcheye, but I and my crew rescued you, I am Corbus Quick-Blade, what’s your name?”

“Guenon, thank you for rescuing me, wait I recognize you, your Zann’s brother, the one who started the revolt.”

“Yes that was me, but right now I need to ask you a few questions.”

“Well I guess I owe you, ask on” she said.

“I just need to know what Zann has done since the revolt, Stitcheye mentioned slaves?” he asked.

“Oh that’s old news, you see last season, we came across a harbor well he figured he could get a ship out of this old rat that ran the place, but he didn’t agree with his plan so he burned down the town and stole a ship for himself.”

Corbus interrupted “Yes I know that part; I have the rat with me, they even made my ship.”

“Err could you tell him I wasn’t a part of it.” She asked

“Yes now back to the story, how did he get the slaves?”

“Ah yes the slaves, we got them at this island north of here, had to run for our lives though, a otter holt caught us and weren’t too happy.”

“You seem to be a nasty one.”

“Please I was in the tribe when Tabun was chief, you weren’t exactly the nicest vermin either.”

“Now I just have one last question, why are you traveling with them, you clearly don’t like him”

“That’s an easy one, I wasn’t at that rally, I just found out about it later, when I was out foraging, they told me that the rest of the tribe had been killed in an attack and they were retreating from them, I didn’t find out until much later.”

“But why did you stay afterwards?”

“Well I couldn’t leave then could I, we were on a boat in the middle of the sea.”

“Well that just about wraps it up, if you want to come with us your welcome.”

“Well its better than staying around here, a bit too dull for my likings, I’ll come with you.” And went off into the forest with Corbus

“Now I have answered all your questions now tell me your story.”

“Once we get back I’ll tell you, it’s a long story and I’ve already told it once today.”

“Well you’re going to have to tell me someday, I can’t just follow you in ignorance now can I”

They later arrived at camp and Corbus, after showing Guenon where she would sleep, went off to his own cabin with plans in his head of the next day.

Chapter nine
Corbus was thrown from his bed unto the cold floor as a dark figure brought a blade to his throat and began questioning him.

“Ok vermin, where are the ones you took”

Corbus attempted to free himself only to feel the blade draw nearer to his throat “I don’t know what you’re talking about, now get off me!”

“I mean your “slaves” where are they?” he said angrily.

“I have never enslaved anybeast in my entire life, and I never would!” he screamed at the attacker.

His assailant grabbed Corbus’ head and looked him in the eye; it turned out to be a large otter.

Realizing who this was his attitude changed in an instant.

“Wait no I’m not who you think I am, I’ve never been near your island”

“Then who are you!”

“Corbus Quick-Blade, I too am after the one who enslaved your friends”

The pressure he was putting on the knife lessened “How can I trust you?” he asked

Corbus thought quickly “look at my crew; they are woodlanders mice, hedgehogs, even a hare the only vermin I have on board are also looking for him.”

The otter thought on this “Ile give you a chance,” he turned to two other otters at the door “go search the cabins and report back to me”

The two otter left and after a few minutes with their reports “He’s telling the truth Skip, the crew is mostly goodbeasts.”

The apparent Skipper released his hold on Corbus “if you are not them then why are you after him?”

Corbus stood up rubbing his neck where the blade had been “Ile rouse my crew and tell the cook to make some vittles, then we will tell ye”

Corbus walked down to the bunks and woke Guenon “Wake up missy, you’ve got some explainin’ to do”

She rose wearily “What is it now?”

“Remember those otters that chased you off that island, well their here”

“Alright but stand in front of me just in case”

“Alright just for safe measure”

They went up to the mess hall where both crews, Skippers and Corbus’, were congregating. Skipper rose as he saw Corbus enter the room with Guenon behind him.

“Alright now tell him what’s become of his friends” said Corbus

At hearing this Skipper became slightly worried

“They have been forced to become oar slaves for Zann, while I’m not sure where they are now I can tell you they don’t deserve it.”

“And who are you?” he asked.

She began to get behind Corbus “I am Guenon; I used to be part of the crew that enslaved them. But trust me I had no choice, if I didn’t go along they would have killed me”

The large otter sat down saddened, Corbus walked up to him “Trust me when we find them we will make them pay for what they have done, but we cannot do it separately”

He looked up “well if we are going to work together you may as well get you facts straight. You can call me Skipper.”

“Well it’s nice to know we have some help now, how strong are your forces?” he asked

“About two score “

“So that makes us one hundred in all, perfect we easily outnumber Zann.” He said happily

“How do you know him?”

“He’s my brother”

“Ah so a little sibling rivalry”

“A bit more than that you see, he killed our father and took control of the tribe resulting in this” he said pointing to the patch over his eye.

“Killing his own father, who would do such a thing?”

“Aye and ill never forget it”

As soon as all the formalities were taken care of they all began to head back to their respective bunks. Corbus began to head back to his own cabin when somebeast grabbed his arm, he turned to see it was Guenon “you still need to tell me your story.”

Corbus shook his head “alright then sit down and I’ll tell you the whole story”

For the next hour or so Corbus told of everything that had occurred to him since the revolt.

“Well I think I have found a bit of a problem” she said

This alerted Corbus “What is it”

“You’ve never been to sea before have you? The problem is that you haven’t named your ship yet, its bad luck to sail on a ship without a name.”

The thought had never occurred to him, though he remembered Grelot and Jak mentioning it a few times. “Hmm I never noticed, I can’t even think of anything for a name”

A voice from one side of the room gave him an answer “the Revanche”

They turned to see Jak sitting in the corner looking at them “What?” they asked simultaneously.

“The Revanche for a name and I gave you one, in my language it means revenge, seems fitting considering what were after.”

They thought a bit on the name and decided that he was right. “Hmm the Revanche I like it” said Guenon.

“Well we just need to see if the rest of the crew agrees and if they like it ill ask Grelot to put it on.” Jak stood up “Then if all is in accordance I bid you adieu” and left for his quarters.

“I agree with him, it’s late and I’m tired goodnight Corbus” said guenon before she too left for her quarters soon followed by Corbus.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully, though most of the crew slept late due to being woken I the middle of the night, but afterwards when everybeast had awoken Corbus had asked each of them of the ship’s name, the vote was unanimous. Corbus stood on the bow watching Grelot and his family putting on the new nameplate.

“Well now that that little matter has been taken care of lets get on to bigger problems, if we have heard correctly Zann will be coming back to his camp today with all the slaves and the rest of his followers, but I’m worried.”

Grelot, who had been listening, shouted up to him “Aye that cat escaped, and the first thing he probably did was alert them to our position.”

“Well I’ve had an idea on how to find out, I’ve sent Jak and a few of Skippers otter to run through the jungle parallel to the beach, so if they are coming we’ll know”

Grelot put down his hammer surveyed his work “Alright that should hold, I told you it was bad luck to have a ship without a name.” Grelot looked up to find Corbus gone he looked around for any reasoning to see four figures running towards the ship.

Corbus was running as fast as he could to meet up with the scouts, unfortunately when he got to them they had to take a moment to catch their breath until they could speak to him, Jak was the first to speak.

“Corbus we saw Zann, unfortunately he was aboard his ship, I’m sorry they’re gone.”

“Well then it seems that we are off again, tell the crews to get the ship ready, ill go say goodbye to Souris”

Corbus walked through the woods to Souris’ home when he found him, strangely enough, packing. He looked at the mouse with curiosity “what exactly are you doing?”

Souris looked up to Corbus smiling “Well you see last night after you left I thought about what you had said, and I thought, maybe I can find a place on land where I can find peace, besides the storms out here are almost unbearable. So I thought I would go with you, I would certainly be a helpful addition to your crew with my skills.”

“But I thought you said you didn’t want your inventions to fall into the wrong hands, isn’t that why you came out here in the first place?” he asked

“Yes but I overheard some of your crew talking of this place called Redwall, well I asked them about it and it seems my inventions would be very safe there.”

Corbus pondered the idea of Souris joining his crew “But what of your house?”

“I’ve hidden all my dangerous inventions at the bottom of the sea, where they will never be used to hurt innocents, as for my house, well hopefully some shipwrecked creature will find it one day and make it their home, and vermin usually don’t come by here.”

“Alright then if you want to come with us, then you’re welcome.”

“Thank you Corbus, I will help in any way possible” he said shaking the ferrets paw as he did so. They headed back to ship and set sail in the direction Zann had headed, with some new allies and a renewed cause.

Chapter ten
The Revanche plowed through the next wave as the storm grew stronger and more merciless. All hands were on deck as they tried to make it through, Jak ran out of his cabin to Corbus.

“Corbus I don’t have charts for the sea here, were lost.” He said hopelessly.

“Then we’ll keep sailing until we reach land, or at least get out of this storm.”

Lightning eliminated the sky as a noise filled his ears crack. He looked up to see that the mainmast had snapped and was plummeting towards the deck “RUN” yelled a crewbeast as it fell, everybeast moved out of the way but there was no saving the sail as it tore from the mast and flew through the air. Corbus looked around “Is everybeast alright?” other than a few bruises they were fine but still a bit shaken from the encounter. Jak looked to the now broken mainmast and sighed.

“The going will only get harder from now on, without that sail our speed will be that of a snail”

Corbus went to him “Well then we had better get working to get out of this storm so we can fix it”

But with their mainsail missing Jak’s prediction proved true and they only became more lost. Corbus was issuing orders when a horrifying cry split the night “ROCKS” at hearing this he saw the second disaster to fall upon him, a large rock looming in front of the ship, at this he heard another crack rend through the air, the ship had struck it. The impact caused all aboard to be knocked overboard and into the unforgiving sea, knocking Corbus out instantly.

Jak woke up several hours later on the beach, his head throbbing and his mouth dry “étaient suis-je?” and began to lift himself from the ground, he looked around until he found the reason for his discomfort, The Revanche wrecked near the shore, near it he saw the body of a rat “Oh no” he said to himself and dashed towards it with all the speed he could muster in his current state.

He came up to the body to find it was

Durb, and he was not moving, worried Jak felt his chest and was relieved to find that he was breathing “Bon he’s alive” he began to lift Durb saying to himself “Ill have to get him out of the sun, then find the others they’ll have to be around here somewhere” and brought him to a place he deemed safe and before going off observed the island itself, as he had been so preoccupied with Durb that he had failed to notice it.

It was a small island, at least as far as he could see, but it had a rocky outcrop which had caused the ship to crash, there was a forest on it, which he was currently on the border on, though other than that appeared to have no life on it.

“Well let’s hope they aren’t too far away” he said to himself as he began to run along the shore looking for survivors.

Grelot soon too woke up, though he had sustained worse injuries than Jak or Durb, he was missing a large portion of his tail, he quickly moved around looking for some dock leaves or anything to put on it to stop the bleeding, he could only find the remnants of a sail and wound it around the stump that was left “Now, Where am I?” he asked himself strangely enough, he got an answer “You’re on the blue isles and we’d like it if you left, vermin!”

He turned to see a group of squirrels with slings and bows staring at him. Realizing they thought he was a pirate he tried to explain “Please no I am not here to harm you, my ship just wrecked in the storm” Not believing his story the squirrels pulled back their bowstrings “Nice try rat but we aren’t fooled by you, you’re here to kill us, I bet the rest of your crew is hiding around here”

At this he began to get scared “No please I am a goodbeast, my families always been nice to everybeast, please don’t kill me”

Once realizing he was not a threat the squirrel who was clearly the leader stepped up “We won’t kill you, but we won’t let you go until you prove to us your not a pirate, now tie him up.”

On his mark two archers came up to Grelot and tied up his paws, though he did not care as he knew he would live.

They journeyed through the woods to what appeared to be a small village inhabited by the squirrels.

They all appeared to be going about their daily tasks with the little ones playing in a clearing, but at the sight of Grelot the all ran to their treehouses.

A female squirrel came down from the trees to speak to the leader of the gang.

“Arbre where did you find this vermin and why is he here?” she asked

“He shipwrecked on the island, were going to keep him restrained until we can decide what to do with him”

“What makes you think for a second that he will not kill us as soon as he gets the chance?”

He leaned close and whispered to her “When we found him, he begged on his knees, I doubt he will harm us”

She walked up to Grelot and grabbed him by his now-stained tunic “If you even think about harming us, ill do what the sea didn’t when you landed here”

“Y...y...Y...Es ma’am” he said in terror.

At that they brought him to an empty room and barred the door.

At long last Corbus woke in a dark room also with a throbbing in the back of his head. When he tried to get up he found he could not do so as he was tied up securely.

A strange voice came from a corner “Looky the Weasels awake”

Another voice followed, though this one was clearly well educated “It’s not a weasel you buffoon, it’s clearly a ferret, and a small one at that”

“Shut it, it’s a vermin and they are fun hehehehehe.” Said the first voice, now clearly more savage

“Why must you continue on this endeavor? It has no point just mindless killing, rather barbaric for my tastes.”

At hearing this Corbus became a bit panicked “Your not going to kill me are you?”

The second voice spoke up “Well I’m certainly not, but palagus on the other hand, well let’s just say I’m sorry for you”

Corbus looked to the source of the voice, or at least where he thought it was “Can’t you stop him?”

“Been trying for year’s old chap, but no success whatsoever I’m afraid”

“Aye been trying for years he has, but I will never give up” said Palagus

“No please can’t you?” he asked

“Well you see there is a problem with me stopping him and that is...” the speaker stepped into the light as he said so, it was hard to tell what species it was due to a large cloak it was wearing. “I’m him” This confused Corbus until he spoke again, this time it was the first voice “Aye mad we are, but I’m winning.”

“Yes you see I happen to be quite the personality, two in fact.”

Corbus was beginning to realize what was happening in front of him “But why can’t you just stop him if he’s you”

“Well as we said before, he’s winning, if you know what I mean.”

“But it’s your own body”

“Ah yes and there is the problem, since there are two of us, we kind of have to share, but he is slowly, though I am unsure how exactly, taking over our mind, though I am still able to talk quite a bit, unfortunately he controls most of the body. Actually I think I still control my left paw, a bit too little to help you I’m afraid.”

“But then what’s he going to do to me” he asked seeing Palagus moving something from under the cloak.

“Ah yes well, this all started when a vermin attacked our ship and we landed here, that’s when he came along, ever since he has killed any vermin to visit his bit of shore.”

“Can’t you do anything?”

“Alright let me see every once and a while I can convince him to do something my way, Err Palagus he is clearly no pirate and would do us no harm.”

“But it’s fun and I’m bored” he said as he raised a sword, about to strike Corbus

Corbus thought quickly about what it had said and used it to his advantage.

“I’m following a whole lot of vermin, if you don’t kill me, me and my crew will bring you to them and you can kill as many as you want to.”

This caught the first voices attention and began lowering its weapon “How many vermin?”

“Lots and lots, trust me enough to keep you happy for seasons to come”

The second voice spoke up “Hmm I he seems to be letting me take a bit more control keep going ferret, maybe I can free you from this after all.”

Corbus took this advice and kept speaking to the first voice “We can get you off this island too, back to the land.”

They both appeared to like this as the second voice spoke out “Alright he seems to have decided to let you go, and I going to wait until battle till he comes back, finally a bit of peace” And began to untie Corbus.

Corbus stood up and began rubbing life back into his limbs “So he’s still... you know, in your head.”

“Yes and he will come back as soon as battle ensues, by the way thank you, and I never got your name.”

“It’s Corbus and thank you, now how exactly do we get out of here?”

“Ah yes, there’s a little door right here.” He said and opened a trap door letting light into the dark room, almost blinding Corbus.

They exited and Corbus found himself in a tree near the coast, as he looked up the shore he saw a few figure laying in the shade.

Chapter Eleven
Corbus, at seeing his crew walked up to where they were camped. There appeared to be about half of them unfortunately and they appeared rather sad, though as soon as they saw Corbus they seemed to cheer up visibly. Jak and Durb stood up and went to greet their captain.

“Corbus we thought you had died in the wreck.” Said Durb

“And who’s he?” asked Jak referring to Palagus.

Corbus looked to Palagus then back to his two friends “He err helped me escape from some strange creature” he answered

“Well then why is he wearing that cloak?” asked skipper, who was curious about the new visitor.

Realizing he was still wearing it Palagus began to take it of “I had almost forgotten about this thing having worn it so long” as he took off the cloak Corbus finally saw what Palagus was, he turned out to be a middle-aged squirrel with several strange weapons around his belt and in the cloak itself. Skipper saw the strange array of weapons and was surprised by the well-mannered squirrel “What are you doing with all those weapons?”

Thinking up a quick response he answered “Well you see I’ve lived here quite a few seasons so I need to defend myself from the odd pirates that come here”

This time Corbus spoke up “That’s another question I’ve been meaning to ask, where exactly are we?”

“Well I think the natives call it the Blue Isles, no idea why though”

“Natives what do you mean? I searched the whole coast and didn’t see a single creature that wasn’t part of our crew” said Jak

“They probably saw you though, they mostly keep to themselves and never bothered me, they live somewhere in the woods as far as I know” he answered

“Well maybe they can help us, Jak is Grelot here?” asked Corbus

“No I’m afraid not in fact I think he’s the only one I couldn’t find.” He said mournfully.

“Hmm well then do we at least know the condition of the ship?” he asked

“That’s where we got lucky, when the ship crashed it got lodged between some rocks and only has a few holes in the hull, we were launched off when it hit them.”

“Now who do we have left of the crew?” he asked solemnly.

“I’m afraid we lost half of them during the crash, many hit the rocks when we hit them Qu'ils reposent en paix. But we still have about fifteen of Skipper’s crew and thirty-five of our own”

“Did ye at least bury them?”

“Aye right over there” said Durb pointing to a spot a good bit away.

“Well we had better get started, lets find where this tribe is and see if they will help us.” He then chose several of the crew to accompany him and journeyed into the woods with Palagus as their guide.

Guenon walked up to Corbus as they traversed the woods and spoke to him “I don’t believe the story you told us about that squirrel, it just doesn’t seem right to me, and neither does he”

“I didn’t think you would, but trust me he won’t hurt us” he told her

“Yes I get that but you still haven’t answered my question of who is he and why does he have all those weapons?” she asked

Corbus looked over to Palagus “Alright ill tell you, you would have figured out soon enough. You see he’s mad”

“What he seems normal enough to me”

Corbus looked back again to Palagus “Then look at him now and listen, he may be whispering but you can still hear him and his other side” Guenon did so and listened to Palagus who was once again conversing with himself.

“You’ve forgotten something” said the first voice.

“What could I possibly have forgotten?”

“The vermin”

“What do you mean, the vermin, the only vermin here is Corbus and his friends, and they’ve proved to be friends of ours too.”

“The treehoppers” it said in a rather sinister tone

At hearing the name his eyes widened “Oh no I had completely forgotten about them”

“They are near, I can smell them.”

Palagus began looking around “Near, should we tell the others, though it might panic them”

“Tell soon or it will be too late heeheehee” the second voice chuckled

Palagus turned to Corbus, but he was already preparing “I heard you who are the treehoppers, are they the squirrels you told us about?” he asked pulling out his scimitar and shield.

“No no no, they are far worse, a bunch of rats that can go through the trees just as fast as any squirrel, only they are deadly.”

“Ill tell the rest” he then motioned to the group to stop and gather together “Palagus has just told me that there are vermin near, so watch the trees and your back, they will be rats as far as I know” the group pulled out their weapons and began looking to the trees before moving on.

A few minutes late Palagus’ prediction proved true and the trees began to rustle and move.

“Get ready for an attack” yelled Corbus

As soon as he said so small rats began to come out of the trees with surprising agility.

“Akiiiilllllaaa” yelled the tree rats as they began to attack the group with short swords and spears. Corbus charged the first wave of attackers and slew three on the spot whilst Durb fired at them with his bow slaying another two in the process. One of the treehoppers charged at Corbus with a spear but Corbus quickly dodged it and cut it in half leaving the rat in a surprised state when Skipper slew him with his javelin pulling back and slaying one who was coming up behind him.

In the heat of combat Corbus noticed somebeast was missing, Palagus, he looked all around and did not see him until a cry came from the trees. “Up here vermin!” Corbus looked up and saw the maddened variant of the squirrel holding two curved blade and watched as he swung on a vine jumped right into the center of the treehoppers and slew rat after rat until he met up with the main group, r to be more accurate until the main group met up with him as the rats between them were thinned so much that they were able to reach him. As soon as Corbus saw the look of insanity in Palagus’ eyes he knew that the more violent side of his personality had taken over and appeared to be enjoying the slaughter.

“C’mon vermin I’ve killed half your number in twice the time, I’m not even sure yore trying.” This appeared to have enraged them as they once again shouted their battle cry “Akiiiilllllaaa!” and began to push harder against the search party.

“We can’t hold them forever mate, we need to retreat” yelled Skipper to Corbus.

“Aye you’re right, RUN!” yelled Corbus.

They quickly pushed off the treehoppers and ran into the woods, though Palagus had to be forced to do so. They ran until their legs began to feel as if they were alight until they reached an open area in the trees. They looked back expecting to see the rats pursuing them only to find they were alone.

“Where did they go?” asked Durb confused

“I don’t know, maybe we outran them.” Answered Guenon

As minutes passed they did not come and the group began to make camp. Corbus was beginning a fire when he heard a voice from behind him “NOW!” before he could turn a deafening BANG knocked him flat and he felt a large wave of heat and pain hit him. Before darkness enveloped him he saw the face of his attacker. It was Zann.

Chapter 12
Corbus woke up, and saw the tops of trees, these weren’t the trees on the island, no they were different yet familiar. He stayed where he was until a voice beckoned him. “Get up out of the mud” Corbus was startled by the voice and immediately did what he was told; he turned around to see who had spoken to him to find the last creature he had expected. It was his father, Tabun. He looked just as he had all those seasons ago strong, tall, and covered with scars from a hundred battles yet he smiled as he saw his son. Corbus was about to ask him something when he stopped him “Nay you’re not dead, almost though.”

“But where am I?” he asked his father.

“Well I said almost now didn’t I” he said chuckling to himself.

“But why are you here then?”

“Ah now that’s what I was looking for. I am here to teach you the lesson I was never able to” he answered.

“But I thought you taught me all you knew?”

“Ha, if I had taught ya all I knew then we wouldn’t be here now would we!” but then he grew more serious “No there is one ole trick that I would have, nay should have shown ye but was never able to”

Corbus sat down on a tree stump ready to learn “What is it you wish to show me?”

“You were always the smart one Corbus, I remember how Zann once rushed into battle, but you sneaked around and got ’em from behind, I feel ashamed to ‘ave been slain by him” he said looking rather depressed. But his mood quickly changed back, the smile returning to his face “But that’s the past you, on the other hand, must look to the future” he then pulled out his sword and motioned for Corbus to do the same

“Now do ye know of the battleblade dance?” he asked him

Corbus was slightly confused at this question “Yes but it is just a trick”

“Not the way I do it, now do ye still have the blade I gave you?”

Corbus remembered the blade his father had given him, It was a very ornate scimitar with 3 holes near the tip, he had never actually used it because he doubted it would stand up in a actual fight but had always kept it on him as something to remember his father by “Yes but it has those holes in it, they would cause it to break”

“Ha, those holes aren’t jus for show son; now watch me perform the dance” he then began to perform what some called “the battleblade dance” where he would whirl the blade side to side, creating a dazzling effect. But something was different; as Corbus watched his father perform he began to hear a humming sound, almost hypnotic, that made his eyelids heavy. Then as he began to doze off he heard a swish and felt the cold steel of his father’s blade against his neck.

“May the wind be at your back, Corbus” and with that he vanished.

Corbus woke once again to find himself in a strange place, but this time he found himself to be in the company of Jak, Guenon, and Skipper. Jak was the first to see him open his eyes.

“Il est éveillé he’s awake!” as soon as this was said Skipper gave a sigh of relief and Guenon hugged her companion “By the fang Corbus you were out for almost two days, we’re glad that you’re finally awake.”

“Aye I was close to death, that’s for sure. Where are we by the way?”

Skipper answered “It’s the squirrels Palagus told us about, they heard the bang and came to the rescue, once Zann saw them he ran for the hills, and guess what, they had Grelot here.”

Guenon took over “Turns out they had taken him prisoner, thinking he was a searat pirate”

Corbus looked around the room expecting to see another asking “Where’s Durb?”

At hearing this they once again became sad. Jak spoke up “It was Zann, he attacked us, threw some ball of fire at us. When you were hit he went to save you, but was hit by an arrow, we’re sorry Corbus, he’s dead.”

Corbus took this hard “Could you please leave me alone for a bit”

“Sure mate, come on, let’s let him grieve” said Skipper ushering them out of the room.

As soon as they left the room Corbus inspected his wounds and found them to not be that bad other than a burned left paw, which was covered in bandages. He then stood up out of his bed and went to his bag in a corner and rummaged through it until he found the blade his father had given him and his armor. As he left the room he turned to meet his friends and crew waiting outside. He was about to say something until he noticed they all had packs on them.

“This should have happened a long time ago” said Jak

Corbus nodded in agreement “Aye and we have paid the price, now lets go.”

They searched throughout the day for any tracks of Zann but where unsuccessful and were almost ready to head back to the village when they hit a stroke of luck.

Skipper looked over a bush and spotted it “Look mates, it’s some of Zann’s band” he said quietly.

Sure enough as they looked over the bush they spotted two stoats and a weasel scavenging for food.

“Come on, Zann will skin us if we don’t find any food soon” said one of the stoats

“Ah shutit our forces are small enough an’ ‘es smarter than to kill one of us” said the weasel

“Your roight ‘e’ll probably make you ‘is slave.” Said the other stoat

They both shivered at the idea but quickly recovered “No ‘e already has slaves, though less since the wreck”

At hearing this Corbus had to stop Skipper from charging at them “Wait a bit Skipper, we can follow them and find the rest without alerting them” Skipper backed down but was still clearly disturbed

“Leave the wildcat to me mate, I know that it was his idea”

“Aye we haven’t ‘ad much luck since we wrecked ‘ere, though we did kill Corbus. That made ‘im happy sure enough”

“An now we won’t ‘ave to deal with him anymore, or that paw licking rat of ‘is either”

“Ho I remember that, shot ‘im right through the heart I did” said the weasel

This though Corbus could not stand and rushed straight into the group with his blade at his side killing the two stoats and holding the weasel by the throat

“MURDERER!” he screamed “You killed my best friend and you will pay, but first where is Zann!”

The weasel was almost scared to death at the sight of the ferret he thought to be dead “To the south, I swear on me life don’t kill me, I was only taking order!” he cried

“You shall see no such mercy from me!” he said as he thrust a knife through the unlucky weasel. The rest of the group was watching the scene in complete silence only to be interrupted by Guenon whispering to Jak “That was brutal, and he seemed like such a gentle type”

Jak looked to Guenon “Corbus is like nobeast I’ve ever seen, he doesn’t get sad, no, he uses his anger in battle remembers the pain he suffered and inflicts it upon his foes.”

“Who told you this?” she asked.

“Durb many seasons ago, he told me that a month after his father was killed, when he had healed and had begun travelling, he came across a group of stoats torturing a group of mice. Well he didn’t like it and he ran straight in and killed the lot of them, saving the mice. He told me that after the battle he asked him why he acted so, and he told him that he had been part of a great injustice and he wished that nobeast should ever have to go through anything like it”

Corbus walked up to the group a slightly fulfilled look on his face “Alright well we know where he is now so let’s get going” No one was disagreeing with him and set off in the direction the unlucky stoat had told him soon finding a light from a campfire.

“Look ahead, that must be them” said Palagus becoming giddy and mad at the thought of slaying vermin.

“Alright but we can’t just charge in we need a plan, so follow me” said Corbus as he began to plot his revenge mentally.

Zann was eating his meal when a Juska approached him and Stitcheye.

“Chief, ‘es back, Corbus is back”

Zann instantly stood up angered “He just will not die, that’s it I’m going to kill him once and for all” he then stood up motioning for Stitcheye to do the same and went to where Corbus was waiting for him.

He found that it was only Corbus and a large otter that accompanied him he laughed, thinking it would be an easy fight “It seems that whenever I try to kill you indirectly I fail, so now I will have to do this personally.”

Corbus spoke fearlessly “I would have it no other way, brother.”

“This will be easy, attack him.”

As the band began to move towards Corbus and Skipper the rest of Corbus’ crew moved from the woods and seized Zann’s band “No, we will do this alone, no interference.”

Zann slowly pulled out his broadsword “Fine with me then.”

Zann made the first move thrusting at Corbus’ unprotected arm but missed and overbalanced. As he stumbled past Corbus he was struck in the back and cringed in pain but swung his sword around striking Corbus’ leg and moving into a defensive stance. Corbus swung his blade around, as did Zann their blades meeting with a clang. Corbus momentarily stunned due to the fact that Zann’s sword was larger than his he swung again at his arm only to see it be deflected by Corbus’ buckler. Corbus took a battle stance, preparing for another blow when his father advice came to him in a flash. He looked at his sword and, seeing the holes, began to swing the blade side to side in a rhythmic pattern, and, surely enough, he heard the soothing whir that he had heard when his father showed him.

Zann was unimpressed “What now? Are ye going to do a dance for me?” he said sarcastically. He was planning his next attack when the dances’ soothing song began to affect him, making him drowsy and making his eyelids get heavier by the second. Soon enough he began to get tired and had almost forgotten about the fight. Then with a quick, accurate move Corbus swung his blade, striking true and beheading his own brother.

When Stitcheye saw what happened he began to step in when he was cut short by a pain in his chest. He looked down to see a javelin protruding from his chest and then heard the voice of his killer. “Die slaver” he then fell back to see the face of Skipper standing above him with several freed slaves, each with a smile on their face.

Corbus looked to what was left of Zann’s band and consulted openly with their captors “Well now that they have no leader, what should we do with them?”

Several suggestions were given, Palagus of course saying he wished to kill them all himself, but the one was heard above all others

“I say we let them free”

They all turned to see the speaker was Guenon “I know them and I know that they won’t do no harm to anybeast, consider it, they don’t have a boat, leader, and they can barely fight so what harm could they do.” Most of the band highly agreed with this as she whispered to Corbus “and I’m pretty sure they won’t last a week here.”

Corbus considered it and made his decision “I agree with Guenon, you shall stay here” at this they were released and thanked Corbus greatly.

“Thank ye mate, we’ll never forget this”

“Aye never ‘arm nobeast”

Corbus stopped them short “I said you shall stay here, I didn’t say that I wouldn’t let Palagus go at you” he said motioning to the deranged squirrel. “Now I suggest you run, I will give you about ten seconds”

At his signal they all ran screaming into the forest followed by Palagus a few seconds later.

The next week Corbus and the crew were on the Revanche saying goodbye to the squirrel tribe that had helped them repair the ship.

“Merci Goodbye”

“And thank you for the help”

Corbus went to the wheel of the ship with Jak and began speak with one another.

“Well my friend it is finally over, Zann is dead and so is Stitcheye.” said Corbus

“Oui, now what?” he asked

Corbus had spent some time considering it “Well why not stop here, now that we don’t have Zann to worry about why don’t we go back to our days of adventure.”

Jak looked to Corbus “do you remember where I told you I had been for the last few seasons, Corbus?”

“Yes, you said you were at Salamandastron, and from the sound of it you didn’t like it there”

“I lied a bit you see, I have a wife there, even a small leveret, and I left to go with you, leaving her at the fortress.”

Corbus was surprised by this “A wife and a child, well why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I knew if I told you I had a family, you would have told me to stay, but the cause was too great for me. And now that it is done I wish to go back.” He answered

“Well I’m sure you’re not the only one, I’m sure Skipper and his friends will want to see their families too.”

“Sorry Corbus, but the life isn’t for me anymore” he said then left.

Corbus looked out to sea and considered his life ahead “Well it seems it’s the end of my adventures for now, maybe I can go to Redwall with Souris”

Then suddenly a voice came from the stairs “Why, the world is still there and so am I”

He looked down to see Guenon coming up the stairs “Really, why stop here, the world is full of adventure and I for one want to see it.”

“You never saw anything of the world when you where with the Juska?” he asked

“Nah, Zann always kept to one place, never strayed too far from it. At one point he tried to build himself a permanent house, fire took care of that, and his missus I’m afraid.”

“Well then, it seems it’s not over then, where to?”

“Anywhere but the western shores, I’m bored to death of them.” She answered

“Well then that leaves a lot of choices, let me think….”

Well there it is. Later on I may add a few commentaries to it and my personal opinion of each individual chapter(If I so choose to or am asked to by others) But in the meanwhile I'll just keep those to myself and I hope you enjoyed the story.

Also the reason I did not post this on RW was because I had a feeling a lot more people would read it here and I already had CQB posted on there.